ROCK HILL, SC—January 8, 2014—3D Systems (3DS) has announced that will.i.am, global entertainer, entrepreneur and philanthropist, joined 3DS as its chief creative officer. In this leadership role, will.i.am will inspire, shape and drive all of 3DS’ initiatives to mainstream the use of 3-D printing through major collaborations with creative brand partners, innovative global campaigns and educational grand challenges designed to grow the popularity of 3-D printing.

The addition of will.i.am to the 3DS team brings tremendous talent, vision and influence, and underscores the company’s commitment to democratize 3-D printing. 3DS plans to leverage will.i.am’s international creative industry network to immediately extend its reach into select high-end fashion accessories houses, leading entertainment and life style brands and key corporate sponsored educational and sustainability initiatives.

"3-D printing lets you get involved, be a part of the creative process and the story of the items you make," said will.i.am, chief creative officer, 3DS. "For me it’s a dream come true to work with 3DS, the company that invented 3-D printing and launched an entire platform that all other industries depend on. I am so thrilled to begin to fuse my creativity and experience with the technology that is poised to change how we create, make and express ourselves."

Avi Reichental, president and CEO of 3DS, also added: "We’re excited to partner with a pop culture influencer of will.i.am’s caliber who really gets 3-D printing and its potential. will.i.am is a global tastemaker who embodies the essence of creativity and entrepreneurship, and we are fortunate to have him as our guide on this exciting journey."

Those not attending CES can see all of 3DS’ new products, video of will.i.am and other announcements at 3dsystems.com/ces.About 3D Systems3D Systems is a leading provider of 3-D printing centric design-to-manufacturing solutions including 3-D printers, print materials and cloud sourced on-demand custom parts for professionals and consumers alike in materials including plastics, metals, ceramics and edibles. The company also provides integrated 3D scan-based design, freeform modeling and inspection tools. Its products and services replace and complement traditional methods and reduce the time and cost of designing new products by printing real parts directly from digital input. These solutions are used to rapidly design, create, communicate, prototype or produce real parts, empowering customers to manufacture the future.About will.i.amA multi-faceted entertainer, creative innovator and philanthropist, will.i.am is best known for his work with The Black Eyed Peas, who have sold 33 million albums and 58 million singles worldwide. will.i.am’s solo cd, #willpower on Interscope Records, was released in 2013 and includes worldwide platinum hit “This is Love” featuring Eva Simons, and “Scream & Shout” featuring Britney Spears, which shot to number one on the iTunes single chart and to top three on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. As a producer, will.i.am has worked with some of the music industry’s biggest names including Michael Jackson, Rihanna, Usher, Nicki Minaj, Britney Spears, David Guetta and film composer Hans Zimmer. will.i.am is the recipient of multiple Grammy Awards, a Latin Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, two NAACP Image Awards, the BMI President’s Award and a 2008 Webby Award. will.i.am's i.am angel foundation supports young people through programs focused on education, activities that build STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) skills and college scholarship assistance. The foundation also operates a mortgage relief program and financial literacy workshops.Source: 3D Systems.